Open Paleo

Philovenator

Xu et al., 2012 FIH-lo-VEN-uh-tuh

From Greek philos (loving) and Latin venator (hunter); literally meaning "love hunter".

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Philovenator is an extinct genus of troodontid paravian dinosaurs from the Bayan Mandahu Formation (dated to the Campanian age, sometime between 75 and 71 million years ago) of Inner Mongolia, China. Its specific name honors Phillip J. Currie.

Under dispute

Philovenator (originally described from a juvenile once referred to Saurornithoides) is recovered as a derived troodontine, the sister of Linhevenator, by most analyses (Xu and colleagues, 2012; Tsuihiji and colleagues, 2014; van der Reest and Currie, 2017; Cau and Madzia, 2021), and it is placed there. Sellés and colleagues (2021) instead recover it within Jinfengopteryginae, and Kubota and colleagues (2024) outside Troodontinae.

Diagnosis

  1. Prominent process on medial side of femoral shaft slightly proximal to distal end
  2. Sheet-like tibial cnemial crest that expands significantly anteriorly
  3. Astragalo-calcaneal hemicondyles deep anteroposteriorly, separated by deep narrow groove
  4. Proportionally extremely long and slender tarsometatarsus (ratio 1.25 femur length, ratio 22.0 length/width)
  5. Anteroposterior depth much greater than transverse width at tarsometatarsus mid-shaft
  6. Prominent elongate posterior flange on metatarsal IV, about equal in depth to metatarsal shaft

Species

Philovenator curriei Xu et al., 2012

Type species

Named for Philip J. Currie, the Canadian paleontologist who co-discovered the specimen in 1988 during the China-Canada Dinosaur Project.

Holotype
IVPP V10597 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Single left hindlimb
Horizon
Bayan Mandahu Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
North Canyon locality, Bayan Mandahu, Inner Mongolia, China

References

  1. Xu, X.; Zhao, Q.; Sullivan, C.; Tan, Q. W.; Sander, M.; Ma, Q. Y. (2012). The taxonomy of the troodontid IVPP V 10597 reconsidered. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 50(2): 140-150. xu2012b
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Theropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026c
  3. Tsuihiji, T.; Barsbold, R.; Watabe, M.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Chinzorig, T.; Fujiyama, Y.; Suzuki, S. (2014). An exquisitely preserved troodontid theropod with new information on the palatal structure from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. Naturwissenschaften 101(2): 131-142. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1007/s00114-014-1143-9

    Description of Philovenator recovered it as a derived troodontine close to Linhevenator.

    tsuihiji2014a
  4. Hartman, S.; Mortimer, M.; Wahl, W. R.; Lomax, D. R.; Lippincott, J.; Lovelace, D. M. (2019). A new paravian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of North America supports a late acquisition of avian flight. PeerJ 7: e7247. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.7247

    Paravian phylogeny (Hesperornithoides paper) included Philovenator among troodontid analyses.

    hartman2019a
  5. Sellés, A. G.; Vila, B.; Brusatte, S. L.; Currie, P. J.; Galobart, À. (2021). A fast-growing basal troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of Europe. Scientific Reports 11(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-83745-5

    New basal troodontid study recovered Philovenator within Jinfengopteryginae.

    sellés2021a
  6. van der Reest, A. J.; Currie, P. J. (2017). Troodontids (Theropoda) from the Dinosaur Park Formation, Alberta, with a description of a unique new taxon: implications for deinonychosaur diversity in North America. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 54(9): 919-935. doi:10.1139/cjes-2017-0031

    Described new troodontid material from the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta

    vanderreest2017a
  7. Cau, A.; Madzia, D. (2021). The phylogenetic affinities and morphological peculiarities of the bird-like dinosaur Borogovia gracilicrus from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. PeerJ 9: e12640. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.12640

    Recovered Philovenator within Troodontinae with Linhevenator.

    cau2021a
  8. Kubota, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Ikeda, T. (2024). Early Cretaceous troodontine troodontid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Ohyamashimo Formation of Japan reveals the early evolution of Troodontinae. Scientific Reports 14(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-66815-2

    Recovered Philovenator outside Troodontinae.

    kubota2024a